Film Review | Toy Story 3

I was very excited about Disney • Pixar's latest release. If you are unaware, Pixar is a 3D animation studio known for coming out with one film at least every year or so. However, over ten years ago, Toy Story was the movie that started it all. A few years later, Pixar brought Andy's toys back to life for Toy Story 2. Now, Toy Story 3 debuted over this past weekend and it was just as well-executed as I could have hoped. I've got a grade below and the full review (with spoilers) after the jump.

Grade: A

Image via The Washington Post

Toy Story 3 brings forth the awful truth that kids do outgrow their toys. They become adults and usually, they donate their old toys or get rid of them altogether. The same is true for Andy, the owner of Woody and Buzz and the rest of the crew from the previous films. It becomes apparent that much has changed over the years—the loss of other toys and even the aging of their dog Buster. However, a small mishap sends all of the toys to Sunnyside day care. From there, the toys must find a way to get back to Andy's house and it leads them as far as a landfill to do it.

The plot of Toy Story 3 is as well formulated as the other two feature films. The characters are vividly presented in IMAX 3D and the voices are great matches to their toy counterparts. The animation and acting was so engaging that I never even checked my watch or lost interest in the film. I've noticed that some films—particularly cartoons—have certain scenes that bring no value to the film whatsoever. Editing must have done a great job because I can't think of a single moment where I wondered "What does this have to do with the film?" or anything like that.

Lots O' Huggin Bear (Lotso) was an excellent villain for the movie. Nothing as sinister as a cute and fluffy bear. His mobster approach to running the toys at Sunnyside was an added point to the story. His "muscle," a baby doll, was quite creepy. This dynamic of characters made the film more interesting and made the storyline very rich. Lotso's nonacceptance of being replaced drove him to treat other toys as if they meant nothing to anyone—in fact, he made the toys seem extremely replaceable themselves.

Besides the excellent animation, plot and voice-acting, the best part of Toy Story 3 are some of the ongoing gags. If you have watched and enjoyed the first two films, you will be excited to see some of the older jokes make a comeback in a different light.

Basically, this long, drawn-out review is just a way of letting you know that Toy Story 3 is just as wonderful as the other films. Each film of the trilogy grew with the audience and I believe that Pixar presented a beautiful glimpse into growing up and learning to let things go. Coincidentally, more adults were in the theater than kids when I went—maybe we aren't so grown up after all.